Go Monoprice (The Truth About HDMI Cables)

It seems my comments have sparked a little blog fire.

• HDMI Ripoffs Continue: $89 HDMI Switcher Selling for $350
• HDMI Twins: Is BetterCables Selling an $89 HDMI Switcher for $350?

It started when I read a review of the Better Cables switch on the Secrets of Home Theater site. Other readers and I thought it looked familiar, and we were right. The excellent online retailer MonoPrice.com sells the same one under their house brand for almost 1/4 the price. Kyle at Geek With Family blogged this and got picked up by Gizmodo. He then looked further and found Belkin is also selling the same line for large markup.

Always use MonoPrice when possible, especially for HDMI cable. (at least until they inevitably raise their prices). When you buy a DVD player at Best Buy they will happily sell you an HDMI cable for $70 and even push you to a "better" one for as much as $300. Don't fall for it, it's all profit for them. Those $100 cables are no better than the ones MonoPrice sells for a tenth the price. Let me say that again:

Those HDMI cables are no better than the ones MonoPrice sells for a tenth the price.

You do NOT need a $200 cable to do 1080p, but the sales boy will insist you do. I take my home theater very seriously, some may say obsessively. I'm especially concerned about picture quality - you have to when you have a 100" screen. I use MonoPrice HDMI cables, MonoPrice digital audio cables and a MonoPrice HDMI switch. My analogue audio cables are from Blue Jeans Cable. It's always the engineering and science that matter, don't ever believe the "magic" that so often comes up when talking higher-end home theater.